International projects

Promoting healthy lifestyle through a workplace based program in Ho Chi Minh City

Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are emerging non-communicable diseases in VietNam. This international collaborative pilot study will develop a 3-year workplace based intervention in Ho Chi Minh City to reduce and prevent non-communicable disease risk factors through healthy eating and physical activity. Workplace is an important setting for prevention programs in developing countries because of the rapid shift from active occupations to sedentary jobs, resulting in declining physical activity, increasing sedentariness and body weight – key risk factors for chronic diseases. The intervention will involve 52 government offices, and approximately 1560 employees.

This is a joint study between PRC researchers Professor Adrian Bauman and Dr PH Phongsavan, and Dr Oanh Trinh from Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy. The study is funded by the International Program Development Fund.

Brunei Collaboration

Adrian Bauman from the PRC went to Brunei Darussalam to help them launch their national Physical Activity Guidelines, on July 9th 2011. The Brunei Ministry of Health had worked for several months to adapt the WHO Physical Activity Guidelines (2010) for a Brunei context.

PRC's public health nutrition researchers are working with the Brunei Ministry of Health on their National Nutrition Survey. The survey, which has been organized to determine the dietary and health status of Brunei's population, will be conducted in all four districts of Brunei. It will be carried out in two phases and will involve some 6,000 participants.

International Visiting Fellows

Dr Qiqiang He, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of School of Public Health, Wuhan University, China, joined the PRC as Visiting Fellow 1 July – 31 December 2014. Dr He is funded by the Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship, and will undertake postdoctoral research in non-communicable disease with Professor Adrian Bauman and Dr Philayrath Phongsavan.